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Saturday, February 20, 2016

My Late Winter Cozy Reading Sample: FUR THE WIN

Last year, I launched a new cozy mystery series with the publication of [book: The Corpse Wore Gingham|24404034] (it's now discounted at $1.99!). It features a retired couple, Piper and Bill Robins, who take up amateur sleuthing because they happen to be good at it. They are a good-natured couple who enjoy a loving marriage that's sometimes tested by their snooping activities.

The second title [book: Fur the Win|28093861] came out last month and continues their solving cases. The series is set in a suburb of Northern Virginia. The cat's name is Snoozy Q in case you wonder. Here are the opening paragraphs to Chapter One:

The wall telephone rang, and Bill Robins, frowning, picked up the handset. He’d just finished removing the last coffee mugs from the top rack of the dishwasher to put away on the cupboard shelf. He recognized Emily Davenport’s nasal voice from when she’d called him on previous occasions. Her octogenarian mother Anna, who lived one house down the street from the Robinses, had not answered Emily’s repeated phone calls or recorded voicemail messages over the past two days.

“I’m concerned about her,” Emily said. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Just name it, Emily,” he said.

“Would you mind going next door and check on her? She may have tumbled down the stairs and broken her leg or hip.”

“I hope not, and I’ll be glad to do it,” he said while shaking his head to mean he was anything but that. It was bad enough he went over to do the handyman tasks and sort of look after her. “I’ll call you right back as soon as I know something. Talk to you later.”

He hung up, grumbling to nobody in particular. Emily was about the only caller using the landline phone, and he regretted not getting rid of it. The Robinses were probably the lone holdouts on their city block to still have one.

“Quit grumbling,” Piper said from the kitchen doorway. She looked up at her husband who never put on any pounds. They dressed in cotton, hers the summery shade of beige and his taupe. “You sound like a sixty-eight-year old grump,” she said. “Who called us?” 

His short, slim wife’s sudden appearance surprised him. “Who called us the last time on the landline?” he asked. “Who leaves me grumbling?”

“Just tell me.”

“Emily Davenport from Bakersfield, California, requested me to visit next door and see how Anna is faring.”

“Why? Isn’t she answering her phone?”“You know she’s half-deaf and refuses to wear her hearing aid. Emily said she has been trying for the past two days to reach her with no success.”

“Did you agree to do it?”

He was annoyed. “Reluctantly, yes, I said I would like I always do.”

“Then we have no other choice but to take out five minutes and pop over to see what’s what.”

END OF SAMPLE

Here's a handy list of the applicable links to find on [book: Fur the Win|28093861]:

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Piper-Bill-Robins-Cozy-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01AOKYBIW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1455978861&sr=8-3&keywords=Ed+Lynskey
Barnes & Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fur-the-win-ed-lynskey/1123262771?ean=2940157852849
Kobo link: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/fur-the-win
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28093861-fur-the-win
Thanks for checking out my cozy mysteries.

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